Yoon Debuts ‘GreenPrint’ for Boston
Files Legislation, Announces Platform for Green Jobs
July 28, 2009
BOSTON – City Councilor-at-Large and mayoral candidate Sam Yoon unveiled today a “GreenPrint,” a platform for sustainable living and green jobs in Boston. The plan outlines legislation that he will file in the Council today, as well as policies that would accelerate Boston’s efforts on green issues.
“We have the opportunity right now to convert to a green economy, but we need to take bold and transformative steps to get there,” said Yoon. “It’s not enough to establish a task force or blue-ribbon commission; we need a plan to create those ‘green-collar’ jobs we keep hearing about but never see.”
Yoon will introduce legislation on Wednesday to create a tax exemption for green roofs – roofs covered in soil and vegetation, planted over a waterproof membrane. Similar credits in New York City and Chicago help building owners recoup the cost of construction. These roofs promote energy efficiency, reduce storm-water runoff, improve air quality, reduce noise, beautify rooftops, and extend roof life.
The Yoon plan also calls for retrofitting Boston’s aging homes through youth and community jobs programs to weatherize housing units.
“As any green planner will say, the greenest building is the one already built,” said Yoon. “We can work in collaboration with youth organizations, community groups, and unions to create good jobs and energy savings for low-income families.”
Another part of the plan would create “Green Neighborhoods.” Yoon would rezone neighborhoods to encourage community gardens and farmers’ markets, and incentivize fresh produce options in local convenience stores and bodegas. Additionally, he would seek to increase walk-ability and bike-ability through raised pedestrian crosswalks, more pedestrian islands and plazas, and a dramatic expansion of networked, separated bike lanes.
“The goal is more trips by foot, more trips by bike, and more trips not taken because of the selection of local options,” said Yoon, who studied urban planning and transportation at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government. “But real green planning means challenging the status quo. We need to rethink and redesign an area’s infrastructure and regulations to allow vibrant and sustainable neighborhoods to bloom.”
